Abstract
Separation of X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm has been practiced for selection of desired sex of offspring to increase the profit in livestock industries. At present, fluorescence-activated cell sorter is the only successful method for separation of X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm. This technology is based on the differences in DNA content between these two types of sperm and has been commercialized for bovine sperm. However, this technology still has problems in terms of high economic cost, sperm damage, and lower pregnancy rates compared to unsorted semen. Therefore, an inexpensive, convenient, and non-invasive approach for sperm sexing would be of benefit to agricultural sector. Within this perspective, immunological sperm sexing method is one of the attractive choices to separate X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm. This article reviews the current knowledge about immunological approaches, viz., H-Y antigen, sex-specific antigens, and differentially expressed proteins for sperm sexing. Moreover, this review also highlighted the different methods for identification of X- and Y-sperm.
Highlights
The possibility to control the sex of offspring in farm animals is a topic of great interest for researchers of agriculture sector
The basic concept of immunological methods for sperm sexing is based on the different proteins present on the surface of X- and Y-sperm [35]
With the introduction of Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), it has become possible to accurately identify the X- and Y-sperm and this has opened the way for assessment of sorting purity of different sperm sexing methods [59]
Summary
The possibility to control the sex of offspring in farm animals is a topic of great interest for researchers of agriculture sector. Based on the theoretical differences, numerous methods have been reported for sorting of X- and Y-sperm. The basic concept of immunological methods for sperm sexing is based on the different proteins present on the surface of X- and Y-sperm [35]. Cell surface antigens specific to either X- or Y-sperm offer a potential means of separating two sperm populations [37].
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